Minister Flanagan Accepts Labour Proposal - Gaza & Ukraine Debate
31 July 2014
STATEMENT BY SENATOR IVANA BACIK
Labour Seanad leader, Spokesperson on Justice
Thursday 31st July 2014/Friday 1st August 2014
BACIK WELCOMES MINISTER FLANAGAN’S ACCEPTANCE OF LABOUR PROPOSAL
Senator Ivana Bacik, speaking as leader of the Labour group of Senators during the Seanad debate on Gaza on 31st July, called upon Minster for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan to seek a recall of the Council of EU Foreign Ministers to ensure that the EU would take stronger action to put an end to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and to prevent any further killing and injury of civilians.
In his response to the Seanad debate, Minister Flanagan specifically accepted this proposal from Senator Bacik, and said that he would contact EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton and the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, as Italy holds the EU presidency, in order to see what further action EU Foreign Ministers can take to achieve a ceasefire and a resolution of the crisis in Gaza. He committed to doing this at an early opportunity, and to reporting back to the Seanad leader Senator Maurice Cummins and to Senator Bacik on any initiatives resulting from this communication.
Welcoming this positive response to the Labour proposal, Senator Bacik said:
“We believe it is very important that Ireland would take the initiative in seeking to recall the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers to ensure stronger EU intervention to end the conflict in Gaza. The last EU Foreign Affairs Council took place on 22nd July, and since then there has been a significant escalation of the bombardment by Israel, and a significant increase in civilian deaths, including the deaths of Palestinian women and children in attacks on UN schools where they were sheltering.”
“The priority for EU Foreign Ministers should be to help achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to prevent civilian death and injury, and then to work with Israel, Palestine and the international community to deliver a peace agreement which will bring about the lifting of the blockade on Gaza, which is at the root cause of this devastating conflict. Working through the EU, Ireland must seek to deliver a long-lasting peace to the region based on the two-state principle.”